5 months to go - what should I be doing???

[aprilfoolwed]

We're headed for our first Disney trip in June! It's our first family trip, first trip ever for DH and my first trip there in over 15 years. We'll be traveling with my parents, who have been to Disney MANY more (and recent) times than us. But they have never done Disney with young children.

We have our place booked (staying offsite in a house) and we will be driving (so no worries about flights and tickets).

What should I be doing at this point? I thought I would be making dining ressies, but guess I can't do that for a little bit yet.

We've watched the vacation planning DVD (a billion times!) but should I be making any concrete plans?

So - what should a novice be doing 5 months out from the trip?????

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Oh wow - just had to add, I knew we were 5 months away from our trip - but I didn't know we were EXACTLY 5 months away from our trip until I saw my ticker when I posted! Cool!!!!

 

[tinkerlisa]

Start planning your days. And where you would like to eat and backup eating places in case you can't get what you want. I am 7 months away and have started doing this. I think you can do your ressies now. isn't it 180 days before your trip? I am not sure. Don't make anything concrete yet because your mind could change.

I have to plan my stuff out exact. I like to be prepared. LOL that and we are doing a grand gathering of sorts so i want to know what other people that are going with us would like to do. My mom has never been and she is not a planner with ANYTHING! and i need her input too.

Oh I just bought a Disney Passporter. I like it much better than Birnbaum's Guide to Disney. You can get a lot of info on here but the passporter has cool planning worksheets in it. I can't wait to start filling it in!

 

[kendallt]

I think you can do your ressies now. isn't it 180 days before your trip? I am not sure.

It recently just changed back to 90 days, so you've got a little bit of time. I would do as tinkerlisa suggested and go ahead and map out a tentative plan for your days, including dining ADR's so that you can be ready to call exactly at the 90 day mark.

Congrats on the trip! We are also traveling in June, and I'm soooo exited!!

 

[BelleOfTheBall76]

Sorry, I have nothing to contribute as this will be our first trip as well. But, the thread caught my eye because we are exactly 5 months away too.

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Hey Belle! We'll be there at the same time. How fun!

 

[BelleOfTheBall76]

Hey Belle! We'll be there at the same time. How fun!

We should be easy to spot...we'll be the family of 4 wandering around looking lost and confused!

Did you notice that our kids are the same age as well...too funny!

 

[aprilfoolwed]

Where are you staying Shannon? Do you have any must-dos on your list (since we do have kids the same ages - how funny!)?

My DD loves Pooh, so we are hoping to visit him at the Crystal Palace for one meal, but I'd also like to visit with Chef Mickey too.

My 5yo DS is totally into action-adventure stuff, so he's looking forward to Hollywood Studios. But I think he's going to be afraid of any bigger rides. My 7yo is game for anything though! I also have a younger child too - who wants to go on ANYTHING even though he's too small!

I think I am more excited than the kids for this trip!

 

[tzolkin]

Start packing!

We went in May last year and I was mostly packed by the beginning of February. It was our first trip, we were driving, and we were going to be gone for 3 weeks (wedding, visiting family, then Disney). I was reading all the tips and packing lists and convinced myself I needed so much stuff. I bought all the stuff so I just started packing it. We also live in a very cold area, so the kids weren't wearing the summer clothes/bathing suits so I figured I may as well pack them. We have an extra bedroom, so I just kept filling it with the suitcases and stuff for Disney.

My DH thought I was crazy, but he was very happy that he didn't have to think about anything other than loading it into the car. We didn't use a lot of the stuff, but there were a few times when he said, "Oh it would be helpful if we had ___" and I just pulled it out and he was amazed.


I would actually suggest not over-planning. I always like to plan things in advance, but it was really nice to actually be able to relax on our trip. We did not plan out our days. (I did make schedules for each of the parks hours, etc. and also made note cards with menus for the CS restaurants.) I had a loose schedule (for example we had to do all the morning EMHs at MK), but for most we decided the day before, or sometimes even that day, where we wanted to go. We usually went to one park in the morning and another in the afternoon. We were there for 9 days so we could be flexible. We wanted to have a good time and go at a pace that worked for our kids rather than trying to fit everything in. Some things we did many times and some we never got to. You will have to think a bit to effectively use fast passes and rider switch, but you don't need to plan out every hour of your vacation.
I'm not sure how long your trip is, but maybe this would work for you. We had a wonderful time and we managed to make it through with no whining or tantrums (kids were 9, 4, almost 2). I believe that was because we took breaks and were willing to be flexible. I think for a shorter trip, more planning would be necessary but it would still be good to allow some time to follow the kids' lead.

 

[BelleOfTheBall76]

Where are you staying Shannon? Do you have any must-dos on your list (since we do have kids the same ages - how funny!)?

My DD loves Pooh, so we are hoping to visit him at the Crystal Palace for one meal, but I'd also like to visit with Chef Mickey too.

My 5yo DS is totally into action-adventure stuff, so he's looking forward to Hollywood Studios. But I think he's going to be afraid of any bigger rides. My 7yo is game for anything though! I also have a younger child too - who wants to go on ANYTHING even though he's too small!

I think I am more excited than the kids for this trip!

We are staying at Coronado Springs. I would say as of right now, our must-dos would be the Pirate Cruise, Fantasmic, T-Rex restaurant(have to do something for my son that doesn't involve girly princesses), at least one character meal (probably with the princesses). I'd like to take my husband to Whispering Canyon and have them give him a hard time. He has no clue about anything at WDW.

My kids don't really care what they get to do, they just want to get there! I'm the one that is more interested in doing as much as possible. My DD will be celebrating her 8th b-day while we are there, so I want the vacation to be awesome for her, well for all of us!

And yes, I too am definitely more excited about the trip than my kids. Why is that??